India, Nov. 21 -- If you doubt that the Indian food scene at the top level is changing, then you should have been in Dubai last week, when three of India's top chefs first cooked an amazing meal and then came together to discuss how things had changed, at a session that I moderated.

The idea, when it was proposed, seemed outrageous. Would Himanshu Saini, whose restaurant Tresind Studio has three Michelin stars, agree to invite Prateek Sadhu of Naar, in the foothills of Himalayas, to come and cook with him? And would both men welcome the new boy in the top league? Johnson Ebenezer of Bengaluru's Farmlore?

For me, that was the first revelation. Chefs agree to collaborations for various reasons. Sometimes, it is friendship: Manuel Olveira ...